Title: Anonymous Noise Vol. 16
Author: Ryoko Fukuyama
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Genre: Shojo, Romance
Publication Date: September 3, 2019
The Story
Volume sixteen of Anonymous Noise concludes the Rock Horizon concert. During the second to last song, Yuzu has a defining moment that shocks everyone, including the band. After the event is over, Yuzu pulls the band together and proposes a shocking question to them all: to put In No Hurry to Shout on hiatus. Everyone is perplexed by the question, especially since they just made their debut with “Othello”, the opening song they wrote for a television anime. The remainder of the volume is spent with the members of the band coming to a decision on whether or not to go ahead with the hiatus.
Short synopsis this time but that was the gist of what the volume had to offer. We did get some individual character development along the way which helped fill the gaps throughout this drawn-out plot point. Still, it was quite the shocking announcement but the reasoning behind putting the band into hiatus was quite sound, albeit a bit selfish on Yuzu’s part.
Characters
First up, Yuzu comes insanely close to sealing the deal with Nino but can’t pull himself far enough along to do so. He admits that he wants to kiss her but, instead, leaves a mark on her neck. Something that Nino would return the favor for a little bit later. It’s not the definitive moment I’ve wanted but I’ll take it for now. It just means that it seems pretty hopeless for the obvious best ship to happen.
On the subject of Yuzu, the reason why he wanted to put In No Hurry into hiatus was due to personal reasons with his mom. I’ll let you guys read the volume to find out what those reasons are and what he plans to do to end this turmoil once and for all, though. Even still, once you reflect on it, it’s pretty easy to tell that this is a necessary evil that has to happen in order to settle this issue for good.
An and Kuro are still as cute as ever. They share some pretty awesome moments in this volume but still can’t pull the trigger. This is getting to be about as frustrating as Yuzu and Nino’s “almost there but will never get there” relationship.
Final Thoughts
Usually, there’s a lot of plot development in these volumes but this time, it really put a major focus on In No Hurry going on hiatus and the band member’s decisions. It used character development and some hints of relationship development to fill in the spaces to draw out this plot point a lot longer than it needed to be. Still, I can see why it was drawn out as it gave us small character arcs that really helped drive home and set up their final developments. I say final developments because Anonymous Noise only has two volumes left before it’s all said and done. Everything should be winding down and the conclusion should be set up as early as next volume. In fact, I expect volume seventeen’s cliffhanger ending to be what sets us up for the final volume to give us that one last hook before tying everything together and putting an end to the series.
I have to say that I’m dreading the ending… not because I think it will be bad but because I loved this series so much. The television anime was kind of rough… the comedy felt really contrived and out of place and the CG animation was just an absolute eyesore to look at. The manga has been leaps and bounds better than the anime and I really wish this had gotten a proper adaptation. This is right up there with So Cute It Hurts as one of my favorite romance series that I’ve read so far. I know there are tons of other series out there but you have to remember that I came into this otaku world an anime watcher first and a manga reader second. I’ve seen over 450 anime series but have only completed 60 manga series and/or one-shots. I’m currently reading 32 series but even if I were to complete all of those (assuming they would all be finished which they’re not), it would still pale in comparison to all of the anime I’ve watched.
So, before I get comments saying “how can you love this when X series exists?”… the simple answer is, I probably haven’t read it.
Still, looking forward to Volume 17. I expect high drama in the next volume to give us that final major hook right before the grand finale!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
